Robert was the last one to enter the Small Council chamber, striding over to his seat at the head of the table; he sat down with a loud thump.
"I, King Robert First of my name etc., etc., do hereby call to order this meeting of the Small Council."
There was no need to call anyone to order. The council was completely silent, awaiting word of what was to come next. All eyes were fixed on the King, as he surveyed the various members of his council. All but two of the seats were filled. Only the Hand's seat to the King's right and the Grand Maester's two places down were empty. Lord Arryn, of course, had been murdered by the Queen, and Grand Maester Pycelle was currently down in the dungeons, feebly protesting that he had no knowledge of the Queen's treason.
"Well is someone going to give me a bloody report!? What's going on out there?" Robert demanded. Stannis saw that the King had brought a flagon of chilled wine with him.
"Apologies, Your Grace, we have the Queen and her brother in custody, Pycelle has also been taken. The castle is ours as well; all the Lannister men are captured or fled." Ser Barristan spoke hesitantly, as though uncomfortable speaking before the Small Council. "However, I regret to inform you that several members of the Kingsguard appear to have…defected to the Lannisters. Ser Preston, Ser Meryn, and Ser Boros disappeared last night along with the Lannister children."
Robert eyed Barristan with barely controlled temper, Stannis shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He knew what would be coming next. Robert had been in a towering rage at the Lord Commander when the Queen's bastards had been found missing. Fortunately for Barristan, Littlefinger spoke up, stemming the King's outburst.
"I have good news on that front, Your Grace. The City Watch apprehended Ser Meryn Trant with the two younger children. Ser Meryn is dead, but Tommen and Myrcella are currently being safely held at the Mud Gate." That was news to Stannis. What are you playing at Littlefinger? If it had been up to him, the Master of Coin would never have been involved, but Renly had insisted that Baelish was the only one who could bring the Gold Cloaks to their side.
Renly stared at Littlefinger with mild surprise. For the Master of Laws, his brother certainly seemed oblivious to the antics of his underlings. Stannis was baffled at how Renly could care so little for the affairs of the Realm, preferring to spend his time choosing outfits rather than to perform his duties. Robert was no better wasting the Realm's gold on wine and women and allowing men like Littlefinger to crawl into the Small Council. I have fools for brothers, Stannis reflected not for the first time.
"My lords," a silky voice came from the end of the table, "it would be amiss if I did not know of the going ons of last night, but what cause did the King have to arrest the Queen and make war on Lannister men inside the Red Keep itself?" As if your little birds haven't already told you everything. You probably knew about the Queen for years and never told a soul. Lord Varys looked quite unperturbed by the recent events, his expression giving nothing away but faint curiosity. Stannis had never trusted the Essosi spymaster, and had grown less and less sure that the eunuch was only interested in "serving the Realm," as he would so often claim. This whole city is full of vipers and Robert does nothing but watch them.
Robert was glaring darkly into his wine, and didn't seem very likely to look up any time soon. With an internal sigh, Stannis revealed the full extent of the Queen's treachery officially to the Small Council. Varys pretended to be shocked, while Littlefinger and Renly merely looked bored by the proceedings. Ser Barristan stared at the floor as if wishing to fall through it, and Robert just sat there clenching and unclenching his fist, low mutterings came from him now and then, that Stannis ignored.
Stannis finished and looked to Robert. The King stood, took a swig of wine and growled, "There. Now you all know how the cunt tricked and cuckolded me. Happy, eh? Going to have a laugh at my expense? Go on laugh it up at the King who can't even command his own wife." No one moved. Robert sat back down looking a little embarrassed.
"Right, well, with the Queen and her conspirators in prison, we can start our preparations for the trial-" Stannis was cut off.
"Kill her. I want them dead. All of them!"
"Your Grace," Renly spoke up, "We need to prove to the Realm that she's a traitor. You can't be seen executing whoever you want. The Mad King tried that, and look where that got him. Besides, Tywin will be furious when he finds out what we've done."
Robert stared daggers at Renly. "Fine, as you wish. But I want you to make sure they all die."
The council chamber became uncomfortably quiet after the King's pronouncement.
Stannis looked over at Renly. We'll have to deal with him when he's not in one of his rages. He would need to bring Myrcella and Tommen back to the castle and get them out of Littlefinger's hands. Maybe Robert would moderate his position if the children were involved.
When no one else looked likely to say anything, Stannis cleared his throat, awkwardly. "Ah, one last order of business. You need a new Hand since Lord Arryn's death; I have drawn up a list of potential candidates for you to look over-"
"Ned."
"I beg your pardon, Your Grace?"
"You heard me. Ned Stark is the new Hand of the King. Send a raven to him at once and tell him to come to King's Landing."
He chooses his foster brother, a man he has not seen in nine years, over me? I uncovered the Queen's betrayal and helped him capture her! Why does he run off to Stark?
"Are… are you sure, Your Grace?"
"Certain. I've known Ned for years and he's a good man. He'll be a fine Hand. And what's more," Robert surveyed the council, "he's someone I can actually trust."